Agreed. They're hoping the sudden but inevitable betrayal happens after they've gotten civilians out, and didn't mention what they're doing if the trap is just an ambush with overwhelming force.

Irissë and I plan to try to rescue them if it is. I don't know how much difference we could make.

I don't think I know enough about your capabilities to evaluate that. Maitimo you also could probably talk down but there goes secrecy. 

Would talking him individually down help? Sending him was a group decision, and we don't have more information than they do about the Enemy.

We can take valaraukar, but only one at a time and so far only with help. And there's no way of knowing what the other side would be sending.

Will you be able to see what the other side's sending? You'll have a better angle than my nephew...

The limiting factor there is safety. If we're close enough for me to see much we'd be hard to spot but maybe not impossible. Irissë or Findekáno might stand just as good a chance without me, to be honest.

They can do the valarauka-pinning trick?

No, but it wouldn't take three days to get my equipment working for them. It'd just trade off against things like collecting more firepower and eavesdropping more.

Collecting more firepower might be a better use of that time, if you think it could be done.

It probably is.

The question is whether to try talking them down or backing them up. They do already know I can get across somehow, if not how fast; if I turn up alone it'll tell them I listened in and not much more than that.

Do you expect you'd be able to talk down Maitimo?

I don't know him. Maybe. If I could say I'd listened at Angband and here's exactly how much of a trap he's walking into then I should hope so, but as it is I can't tell him much that he doesn't already know.

The fact you are going to stick around interfering and have opinions about the situation is itself something he doesn't know. If he decides he'd rather have you impressed with his reasonableness than have the parley - and he might - that could do it.

I hadn't thought of that. The stakes right now are a continent's worth of people; I guess they don't know my approval isn't that important. It does sound tenuous though; do you think it'd make the difference to Maitimo?

And would convincing Maitimo mean he convinces the rest of the Feanorians, but on second thought, duh.

It sounds like my brother has yet to figured out how to stop valaraukar, and you have, so it's reasonable for them to think that your disposition towards them is important. I don't think Maitimo's making a mistake in calculating the stakes, I think he's just overconfident. I have no idea if it'd be enough to persuade him.

If I do go talk to him, would he figure out that I'd take his side if he goes anyway? It might make him more likely to go through with it.

Yes, he would. I don't think it's your aid in this specific fight that it'd make sense to prioritize.

Do you think he's likely enough to listen that it's worth asking?

It would mean we can't trust future eavesdropping; the other plan could plausibly look like walking in on the ambush by coincidence.

...in my estimation it is probably worth it. We weren't going to gain much from eavesdropping anyway, not beyond what we can get from noticing troop movements the minute they start, and they don't seem committed to bothering us, and I would not see Maitimo dead or worse if there's any way to improve our chances.

You'll like him.

Irissë warned me.

I could do it now. Have as much time as possible to prepare if they don't call it off.

Could they if they so desired stop you from taking off or from getting back here?

They could make it hard to get away without them seeing me fly. I don't think they could actually stop me. If they try to watch I'll tell them they're being hostile and see if they stop.

And if they don't?

Maitimo would if you're right about him wanting to look reasonable.

If they don't, and the unnoticeability trick can't get me out, I might have to let them see me in the air. Fighting my way out would be strictly worse.

I think so. Well, hopefully they will want to look reasonable. As reasonable as they can after everything they've already done.

Wanting to look not actively hostile would be enough.

Oh, one other thing. The enchanted weapons people have mentioned, do those have to be swords? Something sharp and hollow that I can fill with water and push could stab monsters instead of pinning them.